Fresh off the failure of his proposed American Health Care Act, Donald Trump has set his sights on the environment next. According to multiple White House officials, Trump will sign a powerful executive order today which would rescind many of Obama’s actions and policies put in place to help combat climate change, justifying it under the guise of protecting American jobs.

Six executive orders from the Obama administration, which encouraged the federal government to help prevent climate change and regulate carbon emissions among other actions, will be wiped out with Trump’s signature, including one memo that outlines the threat of climate change on our national security (ironic, considering his apparent dedication to protecting just that with his travel bans). Additionally, the order will mandate a review of the Clean Power Plan and allow coal mining on federal lands once again after a temporary prohibition.

These actions aren’t surprising considering Trump's commitment to helping the coal industry, his approval of the harmful Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, and his previous statement (via Twitter, of course) that “global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” effectively deeming climate change a hoax. But rather than admitting to these beliefs, a White House official is saying that the administration’s focus is on boosting the U.S. economy.

"It is an issue that deserves attention," the official said concerning climate change. "But I think the President has been very clear that he is not going to pursue climate change policies that put the U.S. economy at risk. It is very simple.”

By imposing this order, Trump virtually ignores the 97 percent of scientists that believe climate change is a result of human activity and undoes every effort by the government to prevent it. He also goes against the very people who he is supposed to protect, as a majority of Americans are more concerned about the effects of climate change than ever. Instead, he’s prioritizing the economic security of coal workers (whose 75,000 jobs are on the decline) over the health and safety of the entire planet.

Keeping American jobs is undeniably important, but not at the expense of working to protect not only our at-risk communities from harmful effects, but the global community. The word "executive" may leave us feeling hopeless, but there's always something we can do to take action. Get involved in groups that actively fight climate change, and as always, do your part at home to reduce your carbon footprint by eating clean, reducing waste, and becoming more energy efficient whenever possible.

Much of the environment's fate will be in the hands of lawyers. Consider donating to nonprofit groups like Earth Justice, who have made it their mission to fight for our planet's future.